Playstation 2 Preview		by Brian Gee
Category	Racing
Preview Date	9/03
Planned Release	Summer ‘04
Publisher	Sony

The ride of your life.

Polyphony Digital’s main man Kazunori Yamauchi is quick to point out that GT 4 is much more than a simple sequel. With a new physics engine, more intricate tracks and a smoother learning curve, GT 4 intends to break the mold and the sound barrier. If what we’ve played is any indication, he won’t be wrong.

Every time I write something about a racing game, the most common questions are about the cars. How many of them are in the game? Is there this car or that car? Will I finally be able to race my mom’s Pinto? Well, let’s put it this way: GT 4 features over 500 cars, ranging from your standard Honda S2000 to your local modified street racer, all the way up to a racing class NSX. In a nod to GT 2, those of you still picking your afros will dig muscle cars like Camaros and Stingrays. Though no specifics have been announced, the team has announced that some “vintage” vehicles might make an appearance as well. I wonder what the gearshift ratios are on a Model T Ford?

But the immense car list only scratches the surface. Easily the most touted feature of GT 4 is the brand new, thoroughly improved physics engine that attempts to further blur the line between gaming and reality. The dev team has literally spent thousands of hours trying to make the GT 4 experience as realistic as possible thanks to an obsessive focus on authenticity. Just check out these shots of the crew at work filming exhaust pipes, recording engine sounds and doing something important on a giant crane.

One example of the improved engine is found in the control. It was way too easy for beginners to spin out in earlier GT games, even on straightaways. I can’t speak for everyone, but I imagine the average person (outside of Southern Californians) can drive in a fairly straight line without fishtailing into a retaining wall. The new engine aims to eliminate this problem by precisely recreating the standard tires and tire pressure found on most normal real-world cars. That in turn affects the handling and voila, less slipping and sliding.

Another physics upgrade is an improvement in the way cars perform versus their real world counterparts. Several of the cars (including the Honda S2000, VW Lupo and Mazda RX-8) were taken out to the track for a little performance testing and the data they gathered matched their goal of a less than 1 second difference for lap times between Human and CPU performance. That’s a pretty big step considering that the previous standard used in Gran Turismo 3 was 2.5 seconds.

The AI is also being revamped to better represent human competition. CPU cars will drive more smoothly with consideration for player movements and should be able to learn from previous mistakes. The AI will still be better at shifting than those of us saddled with inferior reflexes (i.e. just about everyone), but rest assured the CPU won’t seem quite as robotic.

For that matter, Yamauchi and his team are focusing more energy on what they dub the ‘Human Element’ in GT 4. For the first time in the series, you’ll have the chance to drive Convertibles, which also means that for the first time in the series you’ll be able to see your little guy driving the car. Functioning animated pit crews will fix up your ride after one too many wall jobs. Even the audience has come to life, with polygonal onlookers scattered around the tracks waving, cheering and deftly dodging you as you careen out-of-control around a hairpin.

Prior GT games featured wide open tracks in part because of the difficulty; people often slid all over the road. Polyphony Digital’s faith in their new engine was illustrated in a new narrow, winding Italian track demoed at the Sony event. And sure enough, the track felt fine (if a bit claustrophobic) when we played it. The control was noticeably tighter and more responsive.

Gran Turismo 3 is not only a PS2 Greatest Hit (having sold almost 5 million units in North America alone), it’s also considered the benchmark for PS2 racing graphics. And for good reason, since the game looks amazing. GT 4 is certainly on par with its past, though expect it to look even fancier thanks to more polys, greater details and photo-realistic backgrounds. The sweeping Grand Canyon track looks like the real thing.

So with all these improvements, what else is there to look forward to? Well, how about some online competition. GT 4 is the first in the series to offer online play, in this case for up to 6 at a time. No voice chat is being included at this time, but at least all you wannabe Gran Turismo experts out there will finally be able to show off your racing prowess to someone other than your little sister.

Really the only disappointment thus far is the continued lack of damage modeling, which has been a small thorn in this beast’s hide since its inception. But that’s sort of out of developer hands, since real-world manufacturers have a bug up their butts about letting gamers wreck virtual versions of their products. It’s all a bit ridiculous.

But spend five minutes in a room with Yamauchi and you’ll soon discover how serious Polyphony Digital is about car racing. These guys are nuts about it and it shows. You’ll finally be able to see for yourself when Gran Turismo 4 races onto shelves in the Summer of 2004.